Pinks!

The red salmon have finished their run, but the pinks (or as the locals call them, humpies, for the large hump the males get on their backs) are here in full force.  They come in such large numbers the water seems to boil with fish.  One can follow the movements of groups by watching the ripples in the water above them and the air is filled with the sounds of the salmon as they break the water's surface because there are so many there isn't always enough room.  It is amazing and tragic to watch them fight and struggle to make it upstream to their spawning location.  Amazing to see their determination and surprising success, tragic because they will achieve their goal only to die when spawning is finished.  Their efforts to create life will end with the loss of their own.

 

Caviar



No one in the village will eat the pink salmon.  King salmon are considered top of the line followed by silvers and then reds.  If they catch a stray pink while the reds or silvers are running they just throw it back.  I suppose growing up with an abundance of salmon, they can tell the difference between the varieties and have the luxury of being choosy.  We, however, cannot tell the difference and eat them happily.  I was finally able to catch my first salmon yesterday, so I am very excited.    I also made my first successful batch of salmon caviar.  I tried a couple weeks ago but had trouble separating my first batch and ended up with nothing more to show for my efforts than little salmon egg yolks all over my hands.  Many in the village make caviar and the kids will bring the eggs in little baggies to school and eat them like candy.  I will not be ingesting them in quite the same fashion as they taste much like fish smells so I will be looking for recipes to find something a bit more tasty.